Seongguk – Counterattack (2)

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The Papal Chamber was shrouded in darkness by the curtains.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

The Pope was buried in a mountain of documents, silently signing them.

-Drip.

“Hoo… I’ll have to deal with this later.”

The Pope sighed and placed the broken pen on the desk.

His face, usually full of benevolence and composure, was now distorted with anxiety and unease.

It was all because the plan had gone awry a few days ago.

‘It was supposed to be a perfectly crafted scheme…’

The arrival of the next Magic Tower Lord from the Magic Tower and his contact with Lena a few days ago was an unexpected variable. Nevertheless, he had seized the opportunity to trap them at once.

But—he ended up missing them.

Now, figuring out how to salvage the situation was a daunting task.

‘For now, it would be best to spread the news that the Demons and the Magic Tower are colluding…’

The fact that Lena, who knew everything, had escaped with him was a major problem. He could temporarily block public opinion with the authority of the Pope and the Saintess, but that was only a temporary measure.

“Ugh… euk…”

Hearing the faint groan, the Pope lowered his head.

“Are you in pain?”

“No… I’m not…”

Her black hair disheveled, her face flushed red.

The Holy Kingdom’s symbol of purity, The Saintess Veronica, was crushed beneath the Pope’s shoes.

“It pains me to punish The Saintess as well. But—”

-Thud.

“Heuk!”

“The Saintess’s foolish actions have put the Holy Kingdom in danger.”

Making the Saintess and The Hero lovers was essential to his future plans.

But Veronica’s hasty actions and clumsy expressions of emotion only heightened The Hero’s wariness.

‘So, in this state, it’s still impossible.’

The Pope understood. In her current state, Veronica was incapable of subtle seduction.

The Saintess’s brainwashing process had been a long and carefully crafted endeavor. Even implanting a few simple Suggestions had almost been dangerous. Moreover, considering the Saintess’s mental fortitude, most of her knowledge had been deliberately blocked.

Of course, this was thanks to the influence of Demonic Energy, which suppressed most of the Divine Power The Saintess possessed.

“I’m sorry…”

“Unfortunately, an apology won’t solve anything.”

“I’ll try… I will…”

“Well, fine.”

The Pope moved his foot to the side, releasing Veronica.

Veronica struggled to lift her head, looking up at the Pope with tearful eyes.

“Pope…”

“Show me your repentance.”

“…Yes.”

Veronica, with trembling arms, removed the Pope’s shoes and socks one by one.

-Swish.

Then, she slowly put his big toe in her mouth.

“Uup…”

She rolled her tongue around in her mouth, meticulously cleaning it.

“Chulup… Uum…”

Starting with the big toe and moving to the little toe, she slowly and carefully sucked each toe one by one.

The sight, though vulgar, seemed like a blessing.

“Not bad.”

The Pope smiled contentedly as he looked at Veronica.

It was an act largely unrelated to the plan. Nevertheless, the sense of conquest and transgression was always pleasurable.

“Hulup… Sseup…”

After finishing her service, Veronica wiped the drool from her mouth. And she looked at the Pope with anxious eyes.

“Are you… satisfied?”

“Hmm…”

The Pope pondered the Saintess’s fate one last time.

The Saintess’s purity. That was more valuable than any political asset.

Of course, if they were forcibly joined, there would be an unbearable backlash. But if the Saintess did it ‘willingly,’ no one would be able to object.

The last card the Pope had been saving. As things had gone awry, he had to use it to win over The Hero.

“Saintess. There have been countless people targeting The Saintess, who has been weakened for years. I have protected The Saintess from those clutches.”

“Yes, I know. I always know that the Pope is working for me…”

Words full of contradictions. Nevertheless, Veronica firmly believed in the Pope’s words.

“Then it’s your turn to repay the favor. For the Goddess, the Holy Kingdom, and humanity.”

The Pope helped Veronica up himself.

“You’re a complete mess. The Saintess shouldn’t be seen like this.”

As light emanated from the Pope’s hand, the small wounds on the Saintess’s face slowly disappeared.

-Tap, tap.

The Pope smoothed the Saintess’s disheveled hair, brushed the dust off her clothes, and smiled.

“The union of the Saintess and The Hero is a destiny ordained by the Goddess. And The Saintess happens to like The Hero, doesn’t she?”

“…Yes. I want to be with The Hero.”

“If you serve The Hero as we have always practiced, he will surely fall for you. But don’t rush. Do you understand?”

“I will succeed.”

“I look forward to good results. You may leave now.”

Veronica bowed to the Pope once and then went outside.

-Thud.

‘This is truly a crisis.’

If the situation worsened even slightly, everything might be over.

Brainwashing the Saintess and using The Hero for personal gain. If discovered, even the Pope could not escape the death penalty for such a heinous crime.

‘If I make a mistake, this could be the end.’

The Pope, a man named Belbardo, was once a commoner from a poor family in the Holy Kingdom.

But one day, he lost his family to Demons.

He took refuge in the temple, and fortunately, he had a decent talent for Divine Power. Thanks to that, he was able to overcome his painful past and rise to a decent position in the temple.

Then, another stroke of luck came his way.

The Great War. Most of the people who had worked for humanity had died on the front lines. He, who had been a coward, was able to seize the opportunity.

First, he became a Cardinal, and eventually, he rose to the position of Pope.

“…I can’t give up after coming this far.”

There had been countless crises like this. Each time, the Pope had ultimately triumphed and seized power.

This time, too, he had no intention of letting the opportunity slip away.

As the Pope steeled his resolve and was about to return to his seat, something caught on his arm, and he fell over.

-Thud.

The Pope looked at the fallen Goddess statue.

“…Goddess.”

He had justified his actions by saying it was for the sake of the Holy Kingdom and the Goddess. But it was clear that the Pope had committed numerous sins. Yet, there was no divine punishment from the Goddess.

At one point, he had been relieved, thinking that the Goddess had turned her back on humanity.

But the sudden appearance of The Hero was directly contradicting this.

“Does the Goddess condone my actions?”

The Pope looked up at the ceiling and asked a question that would not be answered.

“…Or does she already know my end?”

**

The Hero Inauguration Ceremony. An event where the Pope verifies that The Hero is chosen by the Goddess and recognizes him worldwide.

In fact, not everyone welcomed the appearance of The Hero.

The Dragon’s corruption. The Spirit’s rampage. The Demon’s invasion.

Historically, the rare appearance of The Hero always meant that an unbearable crisis was coming for humanity and other races.

‘Even I, the person involved, initially resented the Goddess.’

To make matters worse, the Holy Kingdom had recently been in turmoil.

The appearance of The Hero. The attempted assassination of the Pope. The escape of the assassin. And rumors that the Magic Tower was involved.

Major events had occurred simultaneously in the Holy Kingdom, which had enjoyed a period of peace since the Great War.

But I knew that the Inauguration Ceremony had not been canceled.

‘After all, the people of the Holy Kingdom will be filled with joy.’

The existence of The Hero. That was ‘proof’ that the Goddess was still watching over humanity.

“The location of the Inauguration Ceremony is the plaza in front of the Great Temple.”

As I raised my head at Ian’s explanation, Ian, standing in front of the wall, pointed to the location on the map step by step.

“It’s a familiar place for you, so I don’t need to explain it in detail, right?”

“Yeah. I’m familiar with the surrounding area, so it’s okay.”

I listened to Ian’s explanation and answered appropriately.

What was surprising was that Ian was explaining it so kindly. If it were the Ian I knew, he wouldn’t have explained it at all or would have been too lazy to do so. The incident a little while ago must have had an impact.

There were only three days left until the Inauguration Ceremony. With the Inauguration Ceremony just around the corner, I regretted the time I had spent lying in bed.

‘If the wound had been just a little smaller, I would have pretended to be fine sooner.’

When I slipped my finger inside the bandage, I felt smooth skin without a single scar.

It wouldn’t have been strange to have a large scar left. It wasn’t a lie that Ian had used an expensive Potion.

‘Hoo… Now, what’s the best way to handle the situation?’

The Pope’s corruption and Veronica’s brainwashing. As the Pope’s scheme targeted the Hero party, the situation changed uncontrollably.

Originally, we would have embarked on a journey to eliminate the remaining Demons after the Inauguration Ceremony, but things had gone completely wrong from the start.

‘It would be a lie to say that I’m not responsible for the situation escalating…’

Honestly, I also felt wronged. How could I have predicted that the work that should have been finished by now with Ian’s cooperation would lead to a catastrophe due to Ian’s mistake? Because of that, I still had a headache from worrying about the aftermath.

But there was one thing that was comforting…

‘Hehe, that Pope. He must be suffering from a headache by now.’

A victim who knew the Pope’s secrets had succeeded in escaping. He must have thought he could capture Ian and me simultaneously through the Barrier, but he couldn’t have anticipated the magic bomb we had prepared.

The time was getting closer for him to pay the price for enjoying his power for so many years.

‘Anyway, for a clean finish, Jade and Annie’s condition shouldn’t be too serious.’

Brainwashed, she stabbed Jade, and at the last moment, she was stabbed by Jade’s sword to save Ian. Moments of sacrifice for someone are always sweet, but…

I admit it. This time, I went a little too far.

To offer a little explanation, this incident also contained my intention as a senior to help Jade grow.

Jade is ‘The Hero.’ He has become an existence that must save the world and become everyone’s hope. A true Hero should not be dragged around as someone’s pawn, but should have the will to judge the situation and make decisions himself.

‘If I evaluate Jade from this perspective… it’s disappointing.’

He doesn’t know at all what kind of situation his beloved woman and comrade are in, and he is swayed by other people’s words, creating the current situation.

If Lena was just The Hero’s lover and someone who could wield a sword to some extent,

I would be beheaded by now.

‘It wasn’t this bad when I first became The Hero.’

I vividly remember suffering from the greed of the sly king and nobles. But I didn’t naively move according to their insidious intentions.

But I still have faith. It’s impossible to doubt the Goddess’s discernment, and the image of him as The Hero that he showed at the Academy is still vivid in my memory.

“If you have to go out… be careful not to be discovered by the Holy Knights… Lena… are you listening…”

Don’t tell me he’s already completely fallen for Veronica and become the Pope’s puppet? That would be a really big problem.

“Lena!”

“Huh, uh?”

At the piercing sound, I hurriedly raised my head, and Ian, sitting across from me, was frowning.

Hmm. I think I made a mistake.

“Sorry. I was… lost in thought for a moment…”

Sorting out my thoughts ended up looking like I was ignoring Ian, who was explaining things diligently. When I glanced at him, Ian’s expression was very fierce.

“Hoo… In this important situation, where is your mind?”

“I’m worried about whether Jade and Annie are okay…”

“If you’re so worried, it’s normal to focus on the conversation even more. Don’t tell me I have to explain it all over again?”

“Ah, no. I understood all the important parts.”

To hear all that again?

I hurriedly shook my head from side to side. And I changed the subject by bringing up another topic.

“But is it accurate information that the Inauguration Ceremony will proceed as planned? I thought the Pope, or that trash, would change the schedule to some extent…”

“Changing or canceling the schedule would be a bad move. The Pope needs to solidify his position in the world situation, and admitting that there are problems internally like this would lead to the worst possible outcome.”

Ian’s tone suggested that he had already anticipated this as well.

‘Well, things have gotten too big to change even one minor thing.’

The scale of the last party was one of the largest even by my standards. If the Pope showed that he couldn’t handle the problems of the Holy Kingdom here, it was obvious that there would be a major setback from the start of his grand plan.

“Anyway, should we say it’s fortunate for us? It would be close to impossible to infiltrate the Vatican or the Great Temple directly.”

“Yes, we should at least say that we avoided the worst-case scenario.”

If it’s this kind of situation, it’s okay. It’s manageable even by my standards.

‘It’s about time to hear about Ian’s great plan… no.’

It was time to change the relationship with Ian a little more.